That's Just The Way It Is
by delete-the-girl
Summary: A Draco/Ginny fic.About how Draco is viewed after the war.Even though he has gone to great lengths to change their views people still judge him on his name and past, not the man he is today. Draco and Ginny, soon learn that, that's just the way it is.


This was written for Penelope_Fiction's Is It a Challenge? No It's a Competition,

Competition: Round One.

The prompt was:

_Listen to the song "That's Just The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby. Then write a Harry Potter related story about discrimination within the wizarding world. You're allowed to turn it into a songfic, but it's mainly for inspiration._

This is my take on that prompt. It is a Draco/Ginny fic. The discrimination is how Draco is viewed after the war. Even though he has gone to great lengths to change their views people still judge him on his name and past, not the man he is today. Draco and Ginny, soon learn that, that's just the way it is.

* * *

Ginny stormed into her husbands study, not even bothering to knock. Draco looked up from the papers he was going over. He knew there was definitely something bothering the red head for two reasons, the first she did not knock. She always knocked before she entered. He really didn't know why, but had became accustomed to it over the years. The second was the look on her face. She looked like she could chew someone up and spit them out without a second thought.

"I'm sick of this rubbish being spread around. You would think 5 years after the war things would have changed by now." She held up the Daily Prophet that was in her hand. "This is absurd, Draco," she continued. "You have influence over at the Prophet why don't you use it and make these stories stop."

"That's just the way it is, love. I does not matter how much good I do. I will always be a deatheater in there eyes. I will always be the one that started the war when I let the others into Hogwarts."

"It's not fair, Draco." she defended.

"Ginny, I know it is not but like I said before that's just the way it is. It's something were going to have to deal with for the rest of our lives."

Ginny turned and stomped out of the room. That was not what she wanted to hear. She was to hear that he would take care of it right away, not that he was going to do nothing.

* * *

Two weeks later Draco had taken Ginny shopping in Diagon Alley. He liked to give her a nice reprieve from the kids whenever he could.

"Where should we go first, love?" he asked her.

"Let's window shop until something just jumps out to one of us. I'm enjoying just being out of the house without three kids running around screaming that they want something." she answered.

Draco nodded in agreement. So they continued walking.

Ginny ignored the stares that they were getting. Draco acted like he didn't notice them.

He felt guilty for her having to deal with the staring and the gossip. She did not deserve it. She was better than the lot of them not only in status, but also in character, and here they were looking and treating her like she was some lowly peasant.

It was when a small group of younger witches behind them started whispering loudly about Draco, that Ginny couldn't ignore it anymore.

Draco didn't catch what they had said exactly, but he figured Ginny had not only by the look on her face, but the fact that she stopped very abruptly.

Ginny drew her wand then turned around and said, "Say that to my face you little wench."

Draco knowing that this would not end well for either party, grabbed his wife's elbow, and apparated them to the manor.

"What did you do that for?" she demanded, turning to face him.

"You would of killed her and I did not feel like trying to break you out of Azkaban, Draco defended"

"Yes, I'm sure you would of hated to do that,"Ginny replied while rolling her eyes.

"I would, it would mess up my whole schedule for the day," Draco took his coat off and gave it to the Twinky, the house elf that was waiting for it.

"Blaise would of gotten me out without even giving it a second though." That got Draco's attention. Blaise Zabini had an unhealthy fascination with his wife. Draco did not trust him alone with her. Blaise, who had a different girl on his arm practically every day, longed for what he had. A wonderful wife that loved him dearly and three perfect strawberry-blonde haired, gray eyed kids. Blaise was jealous and Draco feared he would stop at nothing to steal that away from him.

"Yes, I'm sure he would have, but Blaise's help would of came at a price."

"Your just jealous because he's in love with me and your not use to having competition," laughed Ginny.

"I don't have competition, unless you have feeling for him in return," replied Draco.

Ginny allowed Draco to help her take off her coat then he handed it to Twinky. Twinky then popped out of the room, leaving the two alone.

"Draco," Ginny answered softy,"You already know the answer to that question."

"Yes, but I don't see why you love me so much. I have put you and your family through hell. Then all the things I did during the war will fallow me for the rest of my life. I'm making your life hell,Ginny. One perfect example would be what happened today with the witch behind us. She did not know us at all, she just knew what the Daily Prophet put out. The kids will go through the same. I don't see why you go through this. I love you unconditionally, It kills me to see you having to pay for what I've done." Draco then hung his head. "I'm not proud of the things I've done. It was only survival. He would of killed my whole family, Ginny."

"I know," replied Ginny. "Draco, I'm going to tell you the same thing you told me, that's just the way it is.

* * *

Two days later Ginny lay in bed crying. Draco lay beside her holding her. "You should of just let me kill her, at least then the Prophet could of reported something that was the truth instead of muddying everything up. This is ridiculous, Draco."

"I know, love. I know. I'll see what I can do about it."

Ginny looked up with tear filled eyes, "You will?"

"Yes," replied Draco. "I will do whatever I can to get these horrible things stopped."

"It's about bloody time you finally decided to do something about them," Ginny sniffled.

"I know love, it's long overdue. They have finally went to far,"

"It's horrible that they will put anything in that paper, just to make money."

"Yes, but that's just the way it is," replied Draco. Draco then tossed that mornings daily prophet off the bed and into the rubbish bin that was sitting next to the bed.

The picture on the front page of Ginny holding her wand pointed towards the girl's throat was still moving under the title that read, Ginevra Malfoy just as batty as Bellatrix Lestrange. It also included a two page article, on just how this was so.

* * *

A/n This was fun to come up with. I enjoyed taking part in this round of the competition. I only wish it would of came at a better time, so that I could of put all my heart and soul into it. I will be the first to say that this was not my best work. Given the time that I done it in and the circumstances surrounding this time I believe it's the best that I can give at the moment. My mother in law has been in the hospital and I have been staying with her. So I've compiled and written this in just a few short hours. I thank my fellow competitors for being so understanding and not holding this against me. I also thank Penelope_Fiction for giving me an extension and being so understanding, that my place was at my mother in law's bedside at this time.


End file.
